The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks.

No matter what, you wont be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isnt asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!

NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.

Delighted to report that our bill exempting hobby/small gardeners from the red tape of NH’s ‘seed labeling law’ passed out of committee on a UNANIMOUS vote of 14-0. I had been led to believe by one legislator that lobbying efforts by the State’s Agriculture department was going to make the vote pretty close. I called some legislators and pled the case for the hobby gardeners; they passed those arguments along in committee the next morning, and ZIP! We win. Now on to the NH Senate.

5
posted on 02/21/2014 12:25:57 PM PST
by who knows what evil?
(G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)

I’m sorry to have to report that one of our own Freepers, TrappedInLiberalHell, has passed away. His profile is HERE

I met Chris this past summer and found him to be a brilliant young man, who unfortunately carried around a lot of painful psychological troubles. He wrote few posts here, but was an active and clever noter, and a very sweet young man.

Back in the early 90’s I visited a co-workers home and he and the wife had a nice little 20x24 plot or so just south of Springfield, MO. Everything looked pretty lush as I recall it — approx month of May. Is the soil up there more of a sandy loam or clay if you know because I don’t remember?

I have been working on my calendar, and won't really be starting seeds until mid-March or later.

I started my pepper seeds 10 days ago, and started tomatoes today. I'm in NJ (southern tip, along the shore). Do you find it better to have very mature plants when transplanting outside, or, less mature plants? In early spring, we gets pretty significant winds and I've had plants snap in half. I've been delaying transplanting each year by a week or so, and even with good weather reports, the voque winds have taken their toll.

No...it is okay to save seed for your personal use. But if you try to sell any extras on eBay, Craig’s List, farmer’s markets, etc.; that’s a BIG no-no. Legislators claim the exemption was an ‘oversight’ when the original law was written. Most heirloom seed merchants on the internet are hobby gardeners...you won’t find any from New Hampshire, though.

14
posted on 02/21/2014 12:36:11 PM PST
by who knows what evil?
(G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)

No...it is okay to save seed for your personal use. But if you try to sell any extras on eBay, Craigs List, farmers markets, etc.; thats a BIG no-no.

WOW! Thats for the explanation. I wonder if you are allowed to give away seeds. Although not constrained by NH laws here NJ, a few folks from the local watering hole are fellow gardeners and I have talked up a few of my veggies from which I harvest seeds every year. My yellow cherry tomatoes are to die for. Same with my black cherry tomatoes and yummy bell peppers. I'm on my sixth generation.

New Jersey’s law seems to be similar to many other states...for packages containing less than a pound, the labeling requirements are much more benign than commercial quantities of over a pound. YMMV for state to state. The concern with small gardeners is that they would allow seeds with poor germination rates into the marketplace. Nonsense, of course...if a small gardener were to do that, he wouldn’t be selling seed very long...can you imagine the nasty feedback on eBay? :-)

Swapping, bartering, trade...that seems to be okay just about everywhere BUT it is always a good idea to check local laws...just in case.

19
posted on 02/21/2014 12:58:54 PM PST
by who knows what evil?
(G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)

Last nice day for the the next 10-14 days. Most of the snow is gone, and the mud almost dried out, except in the garden & other cultivated areas. Be glad when the tractor starter problem is repaired, and I can regrade the driveways.

I “harvested” the last usable Brussels sprouts from the stored stalks today; rest is rabbit & bird food.

Cat grass in the coffee can is still doing great; best batch ever for us.

Yesterday, I finally got 9 sprouted peach pits into potting soil in 2 of the plastic containers we bought for seed starting. Ten more that haven’t sprouted yet got the shells cracked, and put back into their baggie of damp potting mix in the veggie drawer of the fridge.

After watching some Youtube videos, I’m planning on using chipped bark & pine cones (if I can’t get any sawdust from the local mill) to mix with sand for the sweet potato experiment. It’s harder to chip stuff since the transmission went out on the older of the 2 tillers; it’s a Troy PTO chipper, so to use it I have to swap it with the tines unit. As much as I use the tiller in the garden areas, it’s hard to work it into the schedule.

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